Our People

Leader

Andrea Leong

After a decade of casual political activism, Andrea decided to start creating the options that were unavailable in the Australian political landscape. The Science Party's focus on rights, education and social and technological progress resonated with her and she joined the party (then known as the Future Party) in 2014. Andrea completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Monash University in 2008, and gained a PhD from UNSW in 2016 for a thesis examining antibacterial surface coatings. She now works in microbiome research. Andrea was the Science candidate for Kingsford Smith in the 2016 federal election.

Executive Member

Jacob Hibberd

Jacob is currently working full time as a manufacturing engineer with the world's leading glass container manufacturer, O‑I. He is interested in the property market where he works part time as a qualified real estate agent and is a property investor. Jacob believes in using facts and evidence to make decisions and so supports the Science Party's approach to politics. He is a philanthropist at heart and views working in a political party as an opportunity to promote social good for a large number of Australians.

Executive Member

Eve Slavich

Eve Slavich is a statistician currently undertaking a PhD at the University of NSW, in the school of maths and statistics, modelling the relationship between biodiversity and climate. She grew up in regional NSW. She owes many values to her upbringing by an agricultural scientist and an aged care nurse. Later experiences living in the Netherlands and China crystallised a world view that people are people and we must strive for the best, not only for ourselves but for everyone. She has a young family and lives in Marrickville. Eve was the second senate candidate for the Senate in NSW in the 2016 federal election.

Executive Member

Ruth Gordon

Ruth is a professional science and medical research communicator, living in Sydney's inner west. Issues that spark her passion include immigration and refugee rights, gender equity, education and the environment. She is looking forward to giving more people an opportunity to learn about and become part of one of Australia's most influential micro parties – the Science Party.

Executive Member

Markus Pfister

Markus became politicised by living in a communist dictatorship. He became interested in the Enlightenment – a subject brushed over in history at school – and the question of how to preserve and advance the liberal state. At the same time, Markus became alarmed at the direction (or lack thereof) in politics in Australia. Markus believes that knowledge is power and that Australia, as a small kid in the playground, cannot rely on sheer brawn to survive. This means that focusing on brains is the key to our future. Markus believes that Australia needs science, and that it needs to use science as a tool to determine policy.

Policy Officer

Ben Wilshire

After actively volunteering for several years for the Science Party, Ben saw an opportunity when the NSW branch was formed to facilitate the development of state policy. Having lived in Orange for over 20 years, he is passionate about regional policy and has local knowledge on what may be useful to implement. He also has a keen interest in welfare, education, and mental health policy. He brings skills gained through professional experience in the community services and IT sectors to the role. Ben looks forward to chatting with all stakeholders to ensure that topics are fairly prioritised and discussed to assist in the most efficient process of creating policies.

Secretary

Saritha Manickam

Saritha was born in Australia and grew up in the southern Indian city of Chennai. After returning to settle in Sydney she completed a degree in computer science and has since worked as a programmer and engineering data analyst. She is currently an analyst at a consultancy working mainly with not-for-profit organisations.

Treasurer

Tom Byrt

Tom grew up in Adelaide and completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) at Adelaide University before moving to Melbourne for four years and then to Sydney, where he now lives. Tom works in the financial services industry and is passionate about long-term thinking, good governance and making decisions based on solid analysis of the best data.

Coordinator

Andrea Finno

As the party coordinator, Andrea manages matters with the NSW electoral commission. Raised on a small rural property in New South Wales and a seasoned world traveller, he has worked in software development for over 15 years and recently completed postgraduate studies at UNSW in Artificial Intelligence and Human Computer Interaction. He has a keen interest in a sustainable energy future and the development of a space industry in Australia.